Police oppose bail application of man accused of money laundering

By Lagi Keresoma/

Apia, SAMOA – 24 July 2026 – The police are opposing the bail application by James Atua who is charged with 30 counts of alleged money laundering.

The bail application hearing was heard before Justice Leutele Mata Tuatagaloa today.

The charges stem from the alleged connection of the defendant to two Samoans currently in police custody accused of the murder of another Samoan in Vietnam three months ago.

James Atua was detained at Faleolo International Airport with his wife Nikita Charles on 26 May 2026 as they boarded a plane for New Zealand and he has been in police custody since 28 May 2026.

The Police are opposing application on the concern that the investigation is continuing and that the defendant is a flight risk. They also raised the concern of the defendant interfering with the witnesses.

The investigation includes the freezing of the defendants’ bank accounts by the Central Bank of Samoa.

Is the flight risk real?
Defense counsel Faimalomatumua Mathew Lemisio questioned whether the flight risk evidence is real and whether there is just cause for the defendant to be remanded in custody.

“There is no evidence before the Court to identify that my client is a flight risk or will not appear for this matter,” he said.

He reminded the court that since his client has been charged, he has cooperated with police, but Justice Tuatagaloa pointed out that his client is in custody and there is no reason for not appearing.

Counsel continued to argue that if his client is granted bail, he will continue to commit to appear before the court.

As for the concern over his client being a flight risk, Faimalomatumua argued that matter has been remedied by the Court by surrendering his passport and there is no way he can leave jurisdiction unless allowed by the Court.

James holds a New Zealand passport and moved to New Zealand from Australia in December 2025.

Interference with witnesses
On the police concern of interfering with witnesses, Faimalomatumua informed the Court that the files and documents provided by police do not identify any witnesses.

“We say the bulk of the evidence will be documentary evidence and we anticipate the witnesses the police rely on are officials from the Central Bank, money transfer institutions, police, and commercial banks,” he said.

He said it would be very hard for anyone to interfere as police have already established the paper trail and that concern has also been minimized especially when his laptop, which is the medium needed to communicate, has been confiscated.

Defendants’ previous conviction
Counsel touched on police raising his client’s previous conviction in another jurisdiction.

James was convicted in Australia and Faimalomatumua made the distinction that the conviction in Australia is different from what is happening in Samoa and the Court should not put weight on it.

He then cited a case presided by former Justice Vui Clarence Nelson where he did not consider the defendant’s conviction in America when sentencing the defendant on a different offence in Samoa.

Justice Tuatagaloa intervened and said a previous conviction can be seen as a risk.

“The risk has to be real but the document provided by police shows no real evidence of a real risk associated with it.

“There is a risk,” said Justice Tuatagaloa.

“It is a minimum risk, not a major one,” responded Faimalomatumua.

Justice Tuatagaloa responded that the risk of reoffending is most probable to which Faimalomatumua said would be “very low.”

“That is your point, but my point is, there is already a risk, and that is for me to decide,” said Justice Tuatagaloa.

Counsel responded that police or prosecution must prove the risk.

Continued detention
Counsel noted the seriousness of the charge as it warrants imprisonment term but also touched on the presumption of innocence. But Justice Tuatagaloa pointed out that she has a clear stance on the seriousness of the charge.

Counsel then argued that if his client is denied bail, he will remain in custody until the hearing of the case in March 2027, yet his guilt has not been determined.

Defendants’ health condition
James was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 2024, and he carries a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) device.

Faimalomatumua informed the court that his client’s machine was not allowed in prison because prison policy did not allow anything with cables inside the cells and James had difficulty sleeping.

“So, he has not been able to sleep all this time in custody?” asked Justice Tuatagaloa.

Faimalomatumua said his client had trouble sleeping.

He also told the court that his client asked to be taken to the hospital but that did not happen.

Prosecutor Paulo Paramore responded that they did not know about the sleep apnea matter until in court today.

He also said that if the health condition was real, the matter would have been raised earlier.

Paramore was asked if he had received James wife’s affidavit where she explained the reason why they made plans to leave on the day they were detained from the airport to which he said “yes.”

Paramore said he received Nikitas’s affidavit yesterday and James last night.

“Did you read the affidavits?” asked Justice Tuatagaloa.

“Yes” said Paramore.

“Did you seek instructions from your Investigative Officer,” she asked again.

“No” responded Paramore.

According to court documents, James and Nikita had already made plans to travel to New Zealand for medical check-up as the appointment had already been booked.

Justice Tuatagaloa has given prosecution a chance to seek instructions and speak to the Investigating Officer and must respond to the issue of the defendant’s medical condition and the events on the day the defendant was detained from the airport on 26 May 2026.

The matter is adjourned to next Monday.